Chapter 1141: Someone Wants to Slack Off
Chapter 1141: Someone Wants to Slack Off
"Albert's such a jerk, going off on his own little vacation and dumping all the work on us."
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had been feeling a mix of emotions lately. Ever since their Dark Magic Defense artifacts gained popularity among the Aurors, they had started receiving large orders from the Ministry of Magic.
In fact, not only were there substantial orders from the Ministry, but they also received countless owl orders daily and had to deal with wizards rushing to their shop to purchase the artifacts, causing them to sell out frequently.
Even with Lupin's help, the trio was swamped every day, leading a painfully blissful life.
However, whenever they thought of Albert, who was off on his post-wedding trip, they felt their moods sour.
It was frustrating; here they were, working tirelessly to make money, while that jerk was off enjoying himself. How could they not be angry and wish to drag him back to help?
"Didn't Albert say that someone would be coming to help us soon?" Lee Jordan asked as he double-checked a batch of goods that were to be delivered to the Ministry that day.
"It's been several days, and we haven't seen anyone," Fred replied.
The trio had considered hiring helpers, but they just couldn't bring themselves to trust anyone else with the task.
Lately, there had been many who envied their lucrative business, and even some idiots who went to the Ministry to report them for monopolizing the market. Counterfeit Dark Magic Defense artifacts were also popping up like weeds.
Fortunately, many of the fake artifacts were suppressed by the Office for Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Items, and their father, Arthur, had helped them deal with a lot of the trouble.
As for those who went to the Ministry to protest or tried to expose them in the newspapers?
It was all to no avail.
Scrimgeour's request was simple: produce qualified Dark Magic Defense artifacts.
Anyone who dared to deceive people with counterfeit artifacts would be fined and imprisoned.
Just as they were complaining and verifying the accounts, the shop's bell rang.
The trio looked towards the door and saw Shanna, dressed in summer attire, walking into the store with a smile on her face.
"Could it be…?"
"You are…"
"The one Albert mentioned…?"
"The helper?"
The three of them looked at Shanna with eager anticipation, hoping for the reply they wanted to hear.
"Can't you guys say things all at once?" Shanna surveyed the shop and noticed that many of the display cabinets were empty, with parcels piled up everywhere.
"Yes, Albert told me you guys have been very busy lately, so he asked me to come over and help you with some odd jobs, to get you through this busiest of times," Shanna said, looking at the three expectant faces, and she couldn't help but find it a little amusing.
"Great, I can finally get away from this annoying work," Lee Jordan said happily, immediately handing over his task to Shanna.
To be honest, he wasn't very good at math, and all the miscellaneous tasks in the store were driving him crazy.
"This is my job?" Shanna asked.
"Yes, that's your job," Lee Jordan replied, handing over the owl orders to her. "You need to sort through the owl purchase orders, verify the mailing quantities every evening, and that's your spot."
He pointed to the cashier's position at the front desk.
"This is the price list for the store's products, and you also have the task of settling the daily sales revenue. Those bothersome things always give me a headache," Lee Jordan added happily, relieved to finally be able to pass on these tedious tasks to someone else.
"Are there this many owl orders every day?" Shanna asked in surprise as she looked at the report in her hand, astonished by the high sales volume and profits of the Dark Magic Defense artifacts.
"Yes, the sales are incredible, and it's driving us crazy," Fred chimed in. "Sometimes I almost think we're running a Dark Magic Defense artifact shop."
"Everyone's feeling insecure these days," Shanna nodded in understanding. She could sense the uneasy atmosphere in Diagon Alley.
"The main reason is that our defensive artifacts are guaranteed and endorsed by the Aurors, so people know they won't be buying inferior products," George said, looking at the piled-up parcels. "And it's all thanks to Albert."
"I bet that guy knew this would happen from the start, so he got us to do all the hard work," Fred added.
"That guy just likes bossing people around," Shanna said with a smile. "But you guys are making a lot of galleons, so I guess it's a win-win situation."
"That's true, but… well, it's just a bit frustrating," Fred admitted, feeling a bit glum. "We're working hard to make money, while he's off on a leisurely vacation."
"Who can blame him for being a smart guy?" Shanna said, impressed by Albert's capabilities.
Who else could have thought of boosting the sales of Dark Magic Defense artifacts with the support of the Ministry of Magic?
"He's just lazy, always saying that work should be delegated to the right people," Lee Jordan grumbled.
"I heard that the galleons the Ministry uses to purchase Dark Magic Defense artifacts are actually from fines imposed on Death Eaters," George suddenly said.
"Fines on Death Eaters? Are you sure?" Shanna looked up, wondering if she had heard correctly. Fining Death Eaters was certainly a novel idea.
"Apparently, Scrimgeour wants to get rid of all the Death Eaters," George said with a smile.
"How come I didn't know about this?" Fred asked, puzzled.
"Stop laughing and continue," Lee Jordan said, intrigued by this juicy gossip.
"Later, I think they considered that Lucius Malfoy is a well-known pure-blood, so they only fined the Malfoy family 50,000 galleons and gave him a chance for a life sentence," George said, feeling particularly pleased about the Malfoys' misfortune.
The Malfoy family was rich; they could afford to buy a life sentence.
"Where did you hear this?"
"Digory told me last time," George said with a smile. "I don't think it's much of a secret in the Ministry anymore. Our new minister certainly knows how to surprise people."
"I can't believe the Ministry would allow something like this to happen," Shanna said, frowning. "It's like blatant robbery, and no one seems to have a problem with it?"
"I guess it's because all the Ministry employees benefit from this," George guessed, understanding why Scrimgeour dared to take such a bold action. "Everyone hates the Death Eaters and wants them gone, so who would care if it's unfair?"
"Benefit?"
"As far as I know, our new minister uses this fine money to buy Dark Magic Defense artifacts for all Ministry employees," George said, pointing to the pile of parcels beside him.
"In other words, Scrimgeour has bought the entire Ministry?" Shanna was stunned by Scrimgeour's audacious maneuver.
"Yeah, it's like using the Death Eaters' galleons to fight the Death Eaters. Everyone hates that bunch of Death Eaters so much that no one would think there's a problem with it," George explained.
"I suspect this was Albert's idea, fed to Scrimgeour," Fred said, relishing in the Malfoys' misfortune. "Who else could come up with such a rotten idea?"
"It does sound like something Albert would do," Lee Jordan agreed, nodding. "That guy likes win-win situations, and this time he's won more times than I can count!"
Most of the galleons fined from the Malfoy group and their associates flowed right back into their pockets through the purchase of Dark Magic Defense artifacts.
"But do they really need these things? I mean..."
"You have no idea how terrible they are at Dark Magic Defense. Many of the Ministry employees can't even cast a decent Shield Charm." George explained.
"Are the wizards at the Ministry really that incompetent that they can't cast a simple Shield Charm?" Shanna asked skeptically. Didn't they have to be reasonably talented to work for the Ministry? How could they be so lacking?
"That's because we're lucky to have Albert teaching us," Fred said, turning to ask after finishing counting the day's mail. "How about Italian seafood pasta for dinner? That shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"What pasta?" Shanna was momentarily confused.
"Tonight's dinner," George explained. "I'll ask the house-elf to prepare an extra portion."
"The house-elf was also hired by Albert to help take care of our daily lives." Lee Jordan explained, "By the way, Dobby is an excellent cook. You'll find out soon enough."
"It's almost six o'clock. I bet Diggory is late again," Fred suddenly said. "Should we send out the other mail first?"
"Who says I'm late?"
"One minute and thirty-seven seconds," George said, glancing at his pocket watch.
"Then your watch must be fast," Diggory didn't mind, his gaze falling on the packages in the corner of the shop as he began to greet the other Ministry employees to help with the inspection.
"A total of fifty pieces."
They packed the packages into Undetectable Extension Charms bags and took George to Gringotts, where they settled the payment for this batch on the spot.
This was the reason Albert was willing to give the Ministry a 20% discount.
Although it seemed like they were missing out on a lot of galleons, they were actually not losing out because they set the prices themselves, and even if they were slightly higher, others wouldn't know. Moreover, they could also gain a good reputation for themselves.
"It's really enviable!"
"Don't be ridiculous. You have two lackeys of your own."
"Don't say that. That's not true," Diggory made a hushing gesture. "One of them is here to pay, and the other is here to inspect the quality of the Dark Magic Defense artifacts. I'm the only one who's actually running errands."
"We originally wanted Diggory to come and help in the shop," Fred shrugged, "but this guy ended up working as an assistant for my dad."
"However, now that Shanna's here, we don't need you anymore."
"That's really heartbreaking," Diggory said as he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Fred. "This is the Ministry's demand for Dark Magic Defense artifacts. If you can..."
"We can't. We're too busy, and we don't think we're capable enough," Fred interrupted. "I'll pass the letter to Albert, but as you know, he's on his post-wedding trip, and no one knows where he's gone. So we'll have to wait, and we'll send you a reply as soon as we have an answer."
"Alright, then I'll take my leave. Please deliver the next batch as soon as possible!" Diggory said helplessly, knowing that it was best not to disturb Albert's post-wedding trip for the time being.
"We can't hurry. There's too much to do every day, and we're all exhausted," Fred said, watching Diggory's departing figure and couldn't help but complain.
"By the way, there's something I almost forgot. How's your potion-making?" Lee Jordan turned to ask. "Can you brew Invigoration Draughts?"
"Oh, that's not a problem. I got an 'E' (Exceeds Expectations) in my NEWTs for Potions." Shanna asked curiously, "Do you need me to brew Invigoration Draughts?"
"Yes, we need that to keep our energy up. We're so tired from working every day, and our potion-making skills are quite average. We used to rely on Albert's stock, but we ran out a couple of days ago," Lee Jordan said, looking at Fred, "I remember Albert left behind the recipe for Invigoration Draught."
"Wait a moment."
Fred walked inside and soon returned with a notebook.
"How is it?"
"It shouldn't be a problem following the recipe," Shanna flipped through the recipe for Invigoration Draught and asked curiously, "Is this Albert's improved version?"
"Yes."
Just then, George's voice came from outside.
"Help bring out the packages to be mailed." George also brought along the postman and a large group of owls.
The four of them checked the packages while the owls carried them away, working until the sky began to darken.
Shanna finally understood why Albert had asked her to come and help.
They really couldn't handle all this work by themselves.
Even she felt exhausted, and there were still a lot of things to do.
"Let's eat first," George suggested.
"Has Albert mentioned your salary?"
"Yes, he said it would come out of his share so that you guys won't complain. He said that this busy work can't go on for years, so we should earn as much as we can first," Shanna looked around and noticed that the place resembled the room for the Duelling Club, and there was even music playing in the background.
"Let's get through the initial period first," George hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "If you feel comfortable later on, you can consider staying at the shop directly. The salary will definitely be to your satisfaction."
He felt that it was inappropriate for Albert to pay Shanna's salary, and if she stayed, they wouldn't be able to complain about that guy slacking off anymore.
"Yes, we can't let Albert pay your salary with his own galleons, or we won't be able to criticize him for being lazy in the future," Fred agreed with George's suggestion.
"Absolutely not. We can't let that guy get his way, or he'll dump everything on us in the future!" Lee Jordan also agreed with Fred and George's decision.
"Let's talk about that later. For now, I'm just here to help temporarily," Shanna didn't immediately agree, changing the subject, "How's it going with Angelina?"
"She wants to play Quidditch," Fred said helplessly. Although he supported Angelina playing Quidditch, ...
"Take it slow. You can't rush these things when pursuing a girl." Shanna smiled and said, "Angelina actually likes you quite a bit. However, she won't easily give up Quidditch, so you'll probably have to wait for a while."
"I can afford to wait, but I'm afraid..." Fred didn't finish his sentence.
Many couples, after graduating from school, got busy with their own lives, and their relationships gradually faded.
"You guys have such good benefits here!" Shanna looked at the Italian seafood pasta that was served and quickly changed the subject.
She knew what Fred was worried about.
"Yes, we have supper when working overtime at night. If it weren't for these delicious meals, we would doubt if we could make it through," George skillfully took over the conversation, "There will also be Italian vegetable soup later, which tastes really good. You must not miss it."
At that moment, a silver ball of light flew through the wooden door and landed on the dining table, emitting the voice of Sirius Black.
(End of Chapter)
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